Nabhan, Gary Paul

"Takes the reader on a ... journey across time and space in this look at the ... relationship between the spice trade and culinary imperialism. Drawing on his own family's history as spice traders, as well as travel narratives, historical accounts, and his expertise as an ethno-botanist, Nabhan describes the critical roles that Semitic peoples and desert floras had in setting the stage for globalized spice trade"--Dust jacket.

Tells of the lifestyle of the Papago Indians who live in the deserts of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, discussing how they have learned to adapt to the conditions of their arid homeland, and providing information about the natural history of desert plants and animals.